The passing of legislation that will allow Inland Revenue to accept electronic signatures will free up accountants and others from an outdated system.

The Taxation (Transformation: First Phase Simplification and Other Measures) Bill, which passed its third reading in Parliament last night, simplifies convoluted and taxing administration for small business owners and regular taxpayers.

A major proponent of this legislation is that it will allow better use of digital technologies by permitting documents to be filed with an electronic signature.

“Getting things physically signed is a time-consuming process; the most common alternative for small business owners is to scan and email their signatures, which isn’t much better.

“Quick turnaround of signed documents will eliminate a lot of delays on jobs and pressure at the end of the month.”

In line with this move by the Government, Xero has developed a new eSign function in Xero Tax (powered by Adobe Sign, the world’s largest e-signature provider) that allows income tax and GST returns to be sent to accountants’ clients for signing electronically, before being automatically sent on to Inland Revenue, cutting out any further intervention and saving valuable time.

Xero and Xero Tax simplifies compliance, giving accountants and small business owners the tools they need to save time and add more value. Xero Tax and the eSign capability can be accessed anytime, on any device, and is quick, painless, and secure.

eSign will be available to all accountants using Xero Tax as soon as the law changes come into effect and Inland Revenue begins accepting electronic signatures.